


Dead To Me

by AM505



Series: Abandon You (I Wish I Could) [7]
Category: Misfits (TV 2009)
Genre: Alisha keeps treating Nathan like shit, Anal Fingering, Blood and Injury, Boys In Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Crazy maniac with powers thinks he is Robin Hood, Dark, Discussions of Nathan's dead body, Drama & Romance, Facials, Lame Robin Hood references, M/M, Nathan Young Dies, Nathan drops the b-word, Neck Kissing, Necrophilia Kink, Simon wants to cum on Nathan's face, sorry - Freeform, stranger danger, surprise surprise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:16:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29780190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AM505/pseuds/AM505
Summary: “You know what I’m implying.” His tone becomes degrading. It’s the return of the old Nathan, the one who’s always calling him a freak. Twat. Pervert. “You have to picture me dead in order to fucking cum. Don’t you? That’s your fantasy. Those were the thoughts you wouldn’t tell me about.”“No.” Simon shakes his head, falling back into the same old pattern of denying before he’s even given thought to Nathan’s contention. “No,” he maintains, eyebrows furrowing as he begins to question the truth of his own statement. “You’re wrong. If you don’t mind me saying, Nathan, I think you’re being paranoid.”A few days later, Nathan dies in Simon's arms again.
Relationships: Simon Bellamy/Nathan Young
Series: Abandon You (I Wish I Could) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993498
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. The Things That Could Come Out of My Mouth

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Springtime everyone!
> 
> I'm sorry that February wasn't very productive, but we're back :)
> 
> This was originally going to be two chapters only, but kept getting longer than intended. (Hence why you will have to wait to see what all the weird Robin Hood stuff is about!) Please read the tags before proceeding and you should be OK xx

_It takes a while for Simon to see the warning signs, and the troubling ways in which the clash with Alisha has left Nathan detached and uncharacteristically demure. There seems to be a change in him, and in the way they both interact._

_If it was just about Nathan’s sudden refusal to wear make-up, he’d at least be able to pin-point the source of the issue to Alisha’s harsh words, and the shaming that must have planted a seed of self-doubt in him. But it’s more than that. He can practically feel the other boy building up new walls around him, as if to question the morals of their relationship. Nathan is actually starting to believe he’s done something wrong, and even though the very notion is unfathomable to Simon, he catches the way Nathan consults Kelly by the vending machine:_

_“Do you think it’s true? Do you think I’ve ruined her life?”_

_Though he’s immediately disturbed by his show of penitence, Simon still doesn’t grasp the severity of Nathan’s qualms and self-blame. It is only when, a few days later, Nathan jumps in front of Alisha to save her life, that Simon truly sees the damage that has worn him down._

_“Nathan! NO!”_

_As he lies in Simon’s arms, dying again, it is suddenly much too late to recognise Nathan’s sacrifice as a pattern of self-loathing, and of something that is as much self-punishment as it is his way of telling Alisha he’s sorry for her broken heart._

*

Predictably so, Simon has become even clingier since he sucked his cock. 

It has gotten so bad that he no longer goes home after Shaun dismisses them at five. So bad that, instead of inviting Nathan to his house all the time, knowing he won’t go, he will happily stay and put off his personal schedule for him, even if it’s just to watch him eat, or shower, or sleep. (And hold his hand when the nightmares kick in). 

Nathan doesn’t know what to think of his enthusiasm. Simon has a proven record of going overboard, but the worst part is, perhaps this obsession isn’t completely one-sided. Not any longer. Though he’s adamantly keeping it to himself, Nathan suspects the two of them are rapidly growing co-dependent, because it just doesn’t feel the same when Simon isn’t around, fussing over everything. 

Pushy as he may be, he actually misses him when he’s not there.

He finds his eyes shutting as he lies on his little mattress. That is, until the other boy edges closer to him, drops down by his side and startles him. It’s only seven o’clock in the evening, but he’s feeling utterly spent, while Simon doesn’t seem to have any time for rest. He’s been growing this cealess appetite - the kind Nathan is all too familiar with, but to Simon, a total revelation. He wants to do and learn everything there is to learn. Wants to attempt everything there is for them to test out together. He wants to be taught, and lectured, and guided, because he so ambitiously wants to know if he can satisfy Nathan.

He’s so curious and eager, even if Nathan doesn’t care to admit it, it’s kinda cute. 

“Do you always go to bed this early?”

Simon crosses his legs as he re-arranges himself by the mattress. Nathan really has to get him a chair, or a beanbag or something. The floor is making him much too restless.

“I haven’t gone to bed,” he moans in response, “I’m just resting my eyes.”

“Do you want to have dinner? We can go out, or we can order in.”

“Order in?” Nathan chuckles lazily. “You can’t order _in_ at a community centre. Ordering in is for people with homes. And addresses. And front doors, with names on them.”

“Okay, then. I can order a pizza and pick it up,” suggests Simon whose hand is reaching for Nathan’s face when he draws it back quickly and stops himself.

Nathan pretends graciously he didn’t see.

“Whatever, Barry. I’m happy.”

“Well, where do you normally eat? I know you don’t cook.”

“Maybe I don’t eat,” Nathan jokes darkly. “Maybe that’s how I stay thin.”

Simon falls quiet suddenly. Not because of the joke he’s made, but because of his tone. The aloofness in his voice. The disinterest in making plans with him.

“Do you not want me here? Is it too much?” Simon looks down at him cautiously. He is doing that thing again where his body goes all rigid with nerves. Nathan wants to shake his head at him for being so hopeless. “Nathan? Do you want me to go?” 

He sighs louder than intended, rests his arm over his eyes so he can’t even look at the other boy.

“If I wanted you to go, I would have said, Barry.”

That seems to be enough for now. Simon takes a chance and raises himself to his knees, looms over Nathan, after which he gently pulls his arm away from his face.

“Can I kiss you?”

Nathan makes a lethargic, grumpy sound, tries to turn over like a sleepy child.

“Why do you only want to kiss me when I’m resting?”

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you all day, Nathan. You just weren’t letting me.”

Nathan knows he’s not communicating well. Even at this point, he still isn’t looking at Simon.

“Is it because of Alisha?” Simon utters the name as neutrally as he can, without giving away his frustration. “Were you worried she would see?”

“No,” replies the green-eyed boy firmly. “No, Barry, god we’re just - we’re not exactly public, are we? Do you really want to go snogging me in front of, I don’t know, Curtis?”

“I would snog you any time, anywhere,” claims Simon as he spreads his knees and swings his leg over Nathan’s body, trying awkwardly to straddle him. “I don’t care who’s watching.”

“Clearly,” huffs the other, pushing against his shoulder so that he doesn’t collapse on top of him. “So, what are you saying? You see a future where we don’t have to sneak off to the roof every time we snog, or to the loos every time we want handjobs?”

Simon looks confused, more than anything, at his question.

“You’re saying you _don’t?_ ”

*

Sometimes it’s easier being with him when they don’t talk. 

Like when Simon lies down next to him and forgets the time, looks to Nathan as if quietly asking if he can stay for the night. To which Nathan nods and snuggles closer, without voicing any actual thoughts.

Or like when they wake up the next morning, side by side, and Simon silently manages to curl his arm around Nathan’s middle without getting scolded. As it turns out, Nathan rather likes being the little spoon, both from behind and face-to-face. Simon inevitably takes it as a sign that they are moving forward, despite there being so many things they are not yet ready for. Only last week, for example, there was no way Nathan would have shared his shower with him. But now, getting physical (though complicated) is the one thing that feels natural.

Simon is so busy kissing Nathan under the hot water, he forgets to shampoo his hair. Though he can’t exactly pursue his instinct to force him against the wall or pin Nathan’s arms above his head, Simon does get away with cupping his jaw, and with fingering his bottom lip when they break apart. The blowjob has rendered him stupid. All he can think about is those full, pink lips, and how good they feel on his body.

“Would you let me carry you?” Simon whispers longingly when images of Nathan getting fucked up against the wall flash before his eyes. His forehead is resting against Nathan’s, but now he’s trailing his mouth past Nathan’s ear so that he’s able to feel those wet curls against his lips. Worried that the sound of the water is drowning him out, he adds in a raised voice: “I want to feel you in my arms. I want to carry you.”

Nathan appears to know exactly what he’s thinking about. However, rather than expressing his hesitance, he kids:

“Are you sure you want to carry my heavy arse?”

“You practically weigh nothing,” Simon purrs with need. “Please. I can do it. I can make it good for you. Just like that guy did.”

Nathan will never get over the fact that Simon has watched him have sex with someone else. Yet here he is, reminding them both like it’s a source of inspiration. 

“Why do you get off on that, Barry? Me and - whatever his name was. I thought it would drive you insane.”

“I always get off on you being pleasured,” Simon utters without having to think. It is the truth. Even when he’s jealous, his fascination with Nathan’s body, Nathan’s twitches, Nathan’s moans is much stronger.

Nathan leans back his head and looks at him through the hot steam surrounding them.

“I don’t want you to make me think of other guys I’ve been with. Make me think about you, you idiot.”

That’s how they end up back to front, with Nathan’s palms pressing into the wall while Simon kisses his neck from behind. Simon grinds into him helplessly, though as he grows harder, he senses Nathan’s discomfort. He doesn’t want to fuck him, not yet. He continues to make that perfectly clear, but it’s something Simon can respect. Careful not to poke him any harder than necessary, or make any suggestive moves, he presses his chest against Nathan’s spine, sighs at the feeling of his warm skin underneath his own.

“Do you want me to touch you?” 

Simon trails a new series of kisses to his jaw. His heart flutters at the nodding it earns him.

He wraps his hand around Nathan’s length eagerly, breathless with pride and feeling so tender it stings, because this is the first time he actually feels the other boy growing hard in his hand. He’s evoking this beautiful response from him. He begins to stroke him gently, which brings Nathan to shiver in no time.

“Oh, fuck…”

Simon steals the small cry from his mouth by twisting his head around to kiss him. Nathan acts like he can barely catch his breath.

“Barry… Can you… I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want…”

It only takes a short while for Simon to learn that, frantic with arousal, the other boy craves the attention of his fingers. This is a first that actually has him stalling, because he needs that extra bit of guiding. Even though he only starts with one finger, he’s scared it might hurt him. He isn’t sure how deep he can go without making it burn. He doesn’t know how to angle his finger in order to find the spot that Nathan practically _whimpers_ for him to reach.

Using the hot water from the shower, Simon ensures that his finger is soaking wet before stretching Nathan open.

“God - please, Barry, that feels so good…”

As he starts to feel him by letting his finger push in and out of him slowly, Simon goes back to kissing his neck. Nathan’s back arches as he falls back against him. He almost grinds that sweet, little arse of his further onto his finger. Simon smirks, appreciates the invitation to go deeper.

“Two fingers okay?” He murmurs, because he now knows the importance of attaining full consent. 

Nathan’s desperate begging is all he could possibly ask for:

“Hell yeah. Please, please, please, Barry, keep going…”

It’s the addition of the second finger that makes him realise the difficulty of the sudden stretch. He feels Nathan’s delicate, little ring of muscle squeezing around him and he can’t even begin to imagine how invasive it must feel for the other boy. 

“God, Nathan. I can’t believe how fucking tight you are.”

The surprise must have been a little too evident in his voice. Nathan stops moving all too suddenly, still as a statue as he looks over his shoulder and forces a hollow chuckle:

“What? You thought a whore like me would be a lot looser?”

*

Nathan stubbornly maintains that he was joking, that his remark didn’t mean anything.

They are lying down on the mattress again, letting their hair dry while eating breakfast - more specifically, a small packet of crisps that Nathan has managed to kick out of the vending machine.

“It’s a shame this place doesn’t have a cafeteria.” 

“Mm.” Nathan licks his fingers suggestively, offers him a sly smile. “I can tell you’re hungry.”

It takes a moment for Simon to realise he’s referring to the obvious bulge in his underwear. No matter how hard he’s tried to suppress it all morning, his boner is self-willed, and ten times more tenacious.

“S-sorry. I can try to, you know…” Simon swallows and looks down at himself. “Get rid of it.”

“Hm, yeah, better get it out of your system now,” Nathan teases. “Our dear friend Shaun will be in shortly.”

For a moment, everything is fine again. Back to normal. With Nathan’s encouragement, Simon takes out his erection and finally jerks off like he’s been itching to since last night. And Nathan kisses him, smiles, lies back to watch him contentedly. Even when Simon nears his climax and asks him wheezily if he can cum on his face, Nathan seems chill.

“What are you, fourteen? Even I outgrew that fettish years ago.”

He’s having way too much fun watching Simon squirm as he tries to hold it in, at least until he’s had a straight answer.

“I’ve never cum on someone’s face before,” he groans in his own defense. “Have you? Or, rather, have you ever…” He stops mid-sentence, feeling awkward for asking.

“Been jizzed on?” Nathan, on the other hand, prefers to put it bluntly. 

“Yeah.” Simon swallows again, feeling every muscle in his chest and abdomen tightening. God, he would do anything to paint the other boy with the ropes of his cum and just get it over with. “Well, have you?”

“I’m a slut and a sex worker, Barry. Really, what do you think? Besides, you were the one watching every act. You would know better than anyone how many facials I’ve had.” 

Nathan forces that same smile again that says ‘only joking’, even when he’s not. And, naturally, Simon senses that something deeper is going on that they are not dealing with. However, in that moment, all he cares about is living out his fantasy.

“Does that mean I can… you know…” He gasps urgently, begins to straddle Nathan’s hips before he’s had confirmation. “Please, Nathan. I’m so close…”

“Sure.” Relieved, Simon is about to let himself go when Nathan holds up a finger before his face. “ _If_ you tell me what you’re thinking about.”

“What? Why?”

His cheeks are burning hot and his stomach tickling deliciously. And Nathan’s pretty face is much too inviting. Simon’s limbs are positively trembling, begging him to avert the distraction of conversation.

“I want to know what makes you climax,” elaborates the young Irishman, growing more persistent as his eyes bore into Simon’s. “Please, Barry. Share it with me?”

But Simon is too worked-up to think.

“You,” he pants simply, because he’s much too desperate to get into details, “I-I’m only thinking about you, Nathan.”

That’s not as specific as the other boy would have liked.

“So what are you thinking about me?” Prompts Nathan, as though in need of evidence. “Please. I really want to know.”

“I - I’m…” Simon groans, letting his impatience get to him. He’s stroking himself as carefully as he can, dancing on the razor’s edge when it causes his breath to hitch. “I’m thinking about… my cum on your tongue… and… your lovely, tight, little hole… which I adore…”

“Bullshit,” Nathan surprises him with a small huff. “I can hear you thinking, you just made that up. What is really going through your mind?”

But Simon can’t control himself any longer. He breaks down with a sharp inhale, wraps his hand in Nathan’s curls rather forcefully as he uses his other hand to take his aim. He will never know what actually goes through Nathan’s mind in the moment he pulls his face closer to his groin and ejects with a shuddering sigh. He spurts his cum directly onto his lips, after which he jerks his hips upwards in order to hit his nose, until finally, the last of his release shoots all the way up to that thick, dark eyebrow of his. Nathan blinks his one eye closed when the cum starts to drip, and even as he scrunches up his face, Simon’s hands move to the back of his neck where he starts to caress him, meanwhile uttering stammering, choking praises:

“You’re gorgeous, Nathan, you’re gorgeous, you’re so gorgeous…”

The other boy doesn’t speak, but parts his lips gently. Reckless and exhilarated, Simon uses his thumb to spread his ejaculation across Nathan’s bottom lip, and as Nathan opens his mouth one more time, he pushes his thumb past his lips, forces him to taste the cum covering his finger.

Nathan blinks slowly, and while his expression is a little too blank for Simon’s liking, he closes his lips around his thumb and gives it a suck. Little by little, he begins to clean up Simon’s mess using his tongue, and it earns him an even more strangled moan:

“Fuck. Nathan. You look…”

Simon gives up on his words, wraps his arms around him in order to pull him in for a heated kiss. It’s all causing his head to spin. He doesn’t even care that he’s tasting himself in Nathan’s mouth. He wants more. His lungs are burning from the fire in his belly. He’s too impassioned to notice the way Nathan slows down until he’s no longer kissing him back, until he merely withholds the words that could have given Simon a heads-up that he’s low-key starting to feel pissed off with him.

*

“Is there something we need to talk about?”

Simon goes back to being fussy the minute Nathan cleans up and puts on a fresh shirt. He’s keeping his back turned on him, which he knows is always a bad sign. He is acting off. Simon believes he could cut the tension with a knife.

“Nope. I’m good.”

“Are you sure I haven’t, you know… fucked up?”

“Barry…”

“If I crossed the line, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to be disrespectful, Nathan.”

“It’s fine. You weren’t.”

“Then, what’s going on? Why aren’t you looking at me?”

The other boy peeks over his shoulder.

“There. I looked at you.”

“Nathan. Please. Have I upset you?”

Nathan sticks his arms into his jumpsuit slowly. Simon pushes himself up from the floor and straightens his back as he prepares himself. And yet, he’s taken aback:

“Why won’t you tell me what you’re thinking about when you cum?”

“What?” Baffled, Simon just ends up pulling a face. “I told you. I think about you. Every time.”

“But... You’re not thinking about me as I am, are you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I can see it in your eyes, Barry. They go all dark just before you…” Nathan makes a crude gesture as he pretends to wank himself off. “It was the same when I sucked you off. You only came when I told you how I died the night before.”

Simon opens his mouth, only to realise he doesn’t know what to say.

“How is that the same? Nathan, what exactly are you implying?”

“You know what I’m implying.” His tone becomes degrading. It’s the return of the old Nathan, the one who’s always calling him a freak. Twat. Pervert. “You have to picture me dead in order to fucking cum. Don’t you? That’s your fantasy. Those were the thoughts you wouldn’t tell me about.”

“No.” Simon shakes his head, falling back into the same old pattern of denying before he’s even given thought to Nathan’s contention. “No,” he maintains, eyebrows furrowing as he begins to question the truth of his own statement. “You’re wrong. If you don’t mind me saying, Nathan, I think you’re being paranoid.”

But Nathan doesn’t let him off that easy, doesn’t allow him to cast doubt on his own judgment.

“ _Simon,_ ” he says, and it’s the most serious he’s sounded in a while. “You promised you’d stop lying to me.”

*

“So what if I thought about you dead?”

Simon pulls Nathan aside in the main hall just before their lunch break. So his sense of guilt has finally gotten the best of him. Ha! Nathan knew he’d crack eventually.

“Did you?” Nathan gives him a strict look, tries his best to remain all stern, which means he really can’t say anything funny, or, despite the fact that he’s dying to, gloat about being right. “Yes or no, Barry?”

“Y-yes, but…”

“But what?”

“It just happened. It popped into my head before I could stop myself. I - I don’t always think about you like that. D-dead, I mean.”

“Just when you cum,” huffs Nathan, feeling massively insulted.

“N-not always,” objects Simon, stuttering. “I swear, Nathan. I-I’m not crazy obsessed like that anymore. I - much prefer you alive.”

“Oh, is that so? You much prefer me alive? Halle-fucking-lujah, aren’t you the most thoughtful, caring boyfriend ever?”

They both pause with shock at what he’s just said.

Damn it.

“Boyfriend?” Simon looks at him with eyes full of wonder. There’s a nervous smile playing on his lips and he’s soon enough inching closer like he’s trying to touch him. 

Nathan jumps back stubbornly.

“No!” He hisses. “No, I didn’t mean that. We’re not-” He lets out a small groan, horribly annoyed with himself. “Wipe that smile off your face, okay? You’re not my boyfriend, not as long as you lie, and hurt my feelings by finding me more attractive when I’m not breathing…”

“Not _more_ attractive, Nathan. I just happen to not be put off by it.”

“You’re _drawn_ to it, you mean.”

“Your words, not mine. Besides, don’t you think it’s kind of lucky? I mean, you’re dead a lot of the time. Imagine if I was the kind of person who wouldn’t stick around for that.”

“Yeah, well, dying sucks, and it hurts, and it screws you up like a motherfucker.” Nathan suddenly feels the resentment building up in his chest. “And sometimes I hate the fact that you’re gaining pleasure from my suffering. Normal _people,_ ” he carefully avoids using the stupid b-word again, “they don’t wank themselves into oblivion when they watch someone they care about die. Normal people would mourn, and maybe have a little cry. You - all you do is pull your cock out!”

Simon’s gleeful smile finally falters. 

“Nathan - I’m not… I’m not exactly celebrating every time you die.”

“You’re not exactly grieving either. Are you?”

“Look, I-” Simon must have feared that he’s about to walk out on him, because he reaches for his hand ever so pleadingly. “I’m sorry. If you don’t know how much I cherish you being here with me, alive and breathing, and being able to touch you… That’s my fault for not making it clear.”

Hesitant, Nathan looks down at his own feet, avoids glancing at Simon’s face. He’s getting much too good at earning his forgiveness by using his words while giving him those eyes.

“So… when you’re with me, you’re not just wishing me dead all the time?”

“No. Of course not.” Simon takes a hold of his shoulders. Annoyingly, Nathan loves being held by the shoulders. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. If one day, something went wrong and you didn’t wake up, didn’t return to me. I would… I would give up. My life would be empty.”

It very quickly becomes impossible for him to conceal his blushing. Perhaps Nathan even feels his lips twitching into a smile. 

“That’s very dramatic of you, Barry. Do you mean it?”

“With all my heart.”

Simon leans in, but Nathan doesn’t allow him to catch his mouth. 

“Not so fast.”

“No one is here,” whispers the other boy needily. “No one is watching.”

Nathan just shakes his head and pushes him back.

“Not now,” he insists gently. “It’s safer this way.”

“Right,” Simon offers him a bit of breathing space, but keeps staring at him. He’s always so fucking intense. So unaware of himself. “I feel like we should go back to what you called me before. We haven’t talked about that nearly enough.”

Nathan all but startles at the reminder.

“Fuck you, Barry!” This time, he removes himself from him completely, threatens to shove him if he comes any closer. “I don’t care what I said, you’re still _not_ my boyfriend.”

*

Two minutes into their lunch break, and he is stuffing his face when he catches Kelly’s staring at him.

“How the fock are you so stick-thin? All you do is drink coke and eat crisps.”

“What?” He laughs with his mouth full. “It’s not my fault that the lousy machine doesn’t spit out a salad when I wrestle it.”

The two of them are sat on the steps outside, because sometimes, it’s good to put a bit of distance between himself and Simon. Sometimes, it’s good to get away from Curtis’s scowling and Alisha’s loathing, too. 

“You’ve got your own money now, dickhead. Spend it on real food. That’s what people usually do, ya know.”

Kelly bites into her egg sandwich like she’s trying to set an example.

“What if I’m saving the money for a rainy day?” Nathan leans back on his elbows and gives her an almost profound look. “It’s a cruel industry I’m in. I can’t be a gorgeous, young twink forever. Looks fade, Kel.”

She shakes her head at him. 

“Especially when you stuff your face with junk food, they do.”

“Hey!”

“Seriously. Don’t you get hungry for real food?”

Nathan huffs in response.

“Why would I spend a fortune on overpriced sandwiches and stuff? I can’t exactly starve to death, can I? Why should I give a fuck about nutrition?”

She looks like she’s about to smack the back of his head.

“Mate, stop acting like such a brat,” she moans. “I’m startin’ to feel like ya mum!”

“That’s funny, Kel, maybe it’s because you act like her!” He suffers a rapid punch to the arm. “Ah! Come on. Don’t you know my mum only goes for the face? Rule number one, you amateur.”

Nathan doesn’t think he’s ever seen her eyes rolling so far back.

“Anyway,” she grunts while making a point of enjoying her food. “How are things with you and Simon? Getting pretty saucy from what I heard.”

The green-eyed boy lifts an eyebrow as his head snaps up, astounded.

“I’m sorry what? Did you just say saucy?” 

Kelly shrugs.

“Based on the details I was given, yeah. Sounded saucy to me.”

“What the fuck?” He gapes at her like she’s just let him in on a scandal. “First of all, who’s even been talking to you about me and Barry? We’re _so_ not official. No one is supposed to know about us. Except…”

“Everyone?” Kelly sniggers meanly. “That’s right. You haven’t been laying low at all if that’s what you think. And remember, people talk.”

“By people, you mean Alisha?” Nathan frowns at the mental image of swallowing Barry’s spunk in front her as their audience. “What did she tell you?”

“She told me she walked in on your…” She takes him by surprise again by closing her lips around her bottled water, pretending to suck it. “Good for you, Nathan. I knew the two of you would work things out.”

“Jesus!” He gets up suddenly, glares down at her like she’s the culprit for winding him up. “Are you telling me she’s actually out there telling everyone what she saw? Is this part of her revenge or something? How many of you know about this?”

“Calm down, you idiot. This isn’t about revenge.”

“Ha!” He utters nervously. “I’m not so sure.”

“Mate, she’s just upset. You have to understand, it’s been hard on her, watching the two of you pairing up.”

“But…” Nathan runs a hand through his hair, mulling everything over. “We’re not paired up! We’re not even together. Not yet. I mean, maybe a little bit, but not really…”

Kelly pulls a face as though he’s lost the plot.

“Together or not, maybe you shouldn’t go sucking Simon’s cock in the locker room that we’re all using. It was an accident waiting to happen.”

“It was not!” He sputters stubbornly. “She was not supposed to come in early! How on earth would I have been able to anticipate her showing up early?”

“She told me she came in looking for you that morning,” Kelly tells him evenly. “Apparently she wanted to apologise to you. She said she hasn’t been very nice to you lately, but - needless to say, given what she saw, she’s probably too pissed off to admit it.”

As unlike him as it is, Nathan falls quiet. He tries to picture the conversation he might have had with Alisha hadn’t Simon been with him. It’s hard to believe she would have actually told him sorry. He almost doesn’t understand why she would. Yes she’s been a pain in the arse lately. But he’s the stupid bimbo who put on his lip gloss in front of her just so he could properly seduce the boy she had her heart set on.

Nathan understands the hatred she must feel. He doesn’t like the way she’s been screaming and shouting and putting Simon on the spot, but deep down, he gets it.

“I can’t believe she came to apologise,” he eventually comments, mind-blown.

“She’s probably not going to now,” Kelly points out with a shrug. “I think you blew it. Pardon the pun.”

In that same second, he randomly spots Alisha in the distance, sees her appearing around the back of the building as she heads down towards the water on her own. She strolls along the outline of the lake leisurely before taking a seat by one of the benches, and perhaps it’s the sense of timing, or the illusion of her quiet surroundings, that has him convinced that now is his chance.

The next olive branch is his to offer.

*

He hadn’t realised that she’s listening to her music, not with her earphones mostly hidden behind her hair. So when he appears and steps off the small pathway, she jumps with surprise and looks up at him, more agitated than he’s ever seen her.

“Son of a-” She bites back her curse and tears the earphones out. “What the fuck are _you_ doing here?”

Nathan cringes internally, but simply smiles.

“Alisha - hi,” he begins stupidly, and she’s already rolling up her sleeves like she wants to punch him. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Sorry. Uh, can I sit?”

“Uhh, the fuck you can’t!" _Rude._ "Can’t you see I’m trying to be by myself?”

“Sure,” Nathan nods, because he can see that very clearly. “It’s just - I thought we could do with a little chat. Just us amigas. I promise I won’t take much of your time.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she utters sharply. “So piss off.”

“I brought you a drink,” he tells her, hoping it’s enough to tempt her and maybe buy a few minutes of her time. “Mango-lime Ribena. Cool _and_ refreshing!”

He offers it to her nervously, well aware that it’s a desperate, rather pathetic gesture. Why couldn’t the moronic machine have dropped something better, like a Snickers?

Unsurprisingly, Alisha shows no interest in accepting it.

“I don’t want any crap you’ve stolen from a vending machine,” she snarls, crossing her arms sulkingly. “Seriously, Nathan, you’re starting to piss me off.”

“Alright then…” He takes a deep breath, preparing himself to talk at her, even if she isn’t willing to listen. “I’ll cut to the chase, shall I? I’m sorry, Alisha. I’m sorry about everything. And you know what I’m like. I hate apologising. I don’t do it lightly,” he adds foolishly. “So hopefully you’ll know I mean it.”

“You can stick that apology right up your arse!” If possible, Alisha is even angrier than before. “I know you, you arsehole! You don’t mean a thing you say! You don’t take anything seriously. You don’t care about hurting people’s feelings. You don’t care about anyone but yourself!”

“Hey, now wait a second,” Nathan holds up his hand as if that’s going to stop her from lashing out. “Look, I get it. You and I have never been the best of friends-”

“We’re not friends! I’ve NEVER been your friend, you wanker!”

“BUT,” Nathan does his best to keep the conversation on track, “I want you to know that I’ve always thought you were pretty cool. I mean, come on. I respect you, Alisha. You’re fun. You’re badass. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt y-”

“How fucking stupid do you think I am?” She jumps up and seeing as she’s already tried hitting him once before, he can’t help but take a step back. “You pull this shit all the time! You say one thing, then do another! You’re never sincere! You’re a snake, Nathan! You lie, and you steal, and you use people to get exactly what you want!”

“Use people?” He frowns with bewilderment. “When the fuck have I used people?”

“You’re doing it right now! You’re using Simon just so you can have your fun with him, aren’t you? You don’t even want him! You just love the attention it gives you!”

His mouth falls open. He can’t remember the last time he was this gobsmacked. Alisha continues mercilessly:

“You let yourself die, again and again, because you know it reels him in! It’s all a pathetic, manipulative act, isn’t it? So what are you going to use him for now that you have him? Are you going to let him fuck you so you can dump him and move on to the next person?” She’s balling up her fists now, but her breathing quickens and gives away her emotion. “He’s just another lay to you, isn’t he? Just another plaything, just another cock to fill you up…”

Finally, Nathan let’s out a bitter chuckle.

“Great. This is you calling me a whore again, I take it? How original.”

“I don’t care what you are, this isn’t about you!” Alisha spits. “This is about Simon, and all the potential he had, until you did this to him!”

“Did what to him?” He laughs again, feigning amusement. “What exactly did I do?”

“Clearly, you have corrupted him! You have… bewitched him!” She utters the word seriously, as if she truly believes it. “Simon was on a path to becoming a better person. You just had to stop him, didn’t you? You ruined his future, and you ruined mine! All so you could have your five minutes of fun.”

“Christ, Alisha! Are you fucking delusional?” Nathan exclaims before he can stop himself. “Are you listening to yourself?”

“The worst part is,” she snaps, “I can’t even look at the person I thought I would love with all my heart one day, because guess what? I look at him, and I _hate_ what he is! I hate what you have _made_ him!”

“I haven’t made him anything!” Nathan cries. “He is what he is! And you know what? Intense as he may be, I LIKE him! He’s loyal, and he’s kind, and strong, and good-looking…”

“And you don’t deserve any of that! You don’t deserve him! Fuck knows what he sees in you, Nathan. You are evil and selfish, which is exactly why no one likes you!”

“Barry likes me! So - ha!” Nathan knows he’s gone too far. He knows instantly. Instead of taking it back, though, he presses his hands to his hips and gives her a stubborn look. “I’m sorry Alisha, but you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know what me and Barry are. I’m NOT using him! And I think deep down you know that. It’s just more convenient for you to pretend we’re wrong for each other!”

“Get the fuck out of my face.” She says it calmly at first, eyes him as though she’s in full control. Then, she loses it: “I said, get the FUCK out of my face! Stay away from me, you… you tramp!”

“Tramp? Oh, nice one!” Nathan cackles mockingly. “Bonus points to Alisha for calling me a whore, AND alluding to my homelessness, using only one word! Boo-ya!”

He knows he’s being way more annoying than necessary. He doesn’t even like seeing her this way; so furious and aggrieved, practically with steam coming out of her ears. He’s not sure why he can’t just be the bigger person and let her vent, and let her take out her pain on him. After all, he should be able to handle it better. Simon chose him. He won. At least she should win the argument.

“I swear to God, if you say another word I will - I will…” Failing to put it into words, Alisha merely holds up her hand before him. Her magical weapon. 

“What? You will use your power on me like you did with Barry?” He snorts, and the lack of respect incenses her further.

“I will humiliate you if I have to, Nathan.” Her eyes are cold and steely. “Now, fuck off. This is your final warning.”

But Nathan is feeling petty, and not at all scared.

“I think that would freak you out a lot more than me, Alisha. You have no idea the things that could come out of my mouth.”

“You’re disgusting.” She scrunches up her face, however, her hand remains pointed at him.

“That’s right, I am,” Nathan replies with confidence. “I’m disgusting, and I’m perverted, and ever since Barry put his hard dick in front of my face, I’ve been horny and aroused and keeping it all bottled up inside. Do you want me to let it out? Do you want to hear me moaning and describing all the things I wish that Barry would do to me? Do you want to hear how badly I want him to fuck me up?”

“You fucking slag!” She hollers bitterly. Naturally, she hadn’t anticipated her threat to backfire. “You’re the worst person I’ve ever met, Nathan!”

“Come on, Alisha. You wanted to force me to spill my inner desires, didn’t you? Go on, then. If you want to humiliate me, do it. Give me all you got. I’m okay with it. Touch me - I fucking dare you!”

His tone is playful, but his words are cruel. He can see her breaking slowly, struggling to hold it in. His approach is much too aggressive. It’s like kicking someone who’s already down. Enraged, she lets out a strangled yell, and rather than attacking him with her power, she reaches down on the ground for the biggest rock she can find.

“You make me sick! And soon you’ll make him sick, too,” she screams, throwing the rock right at him. How she manages to miss when they’re only six feet apart is beyond him. However, he can’t deny feeling grateful when he hears the size of the thing flying past his ear. “Go away! I’m serious. You are dead to me, so don’t ever speak to me again!”

“Fine!” He clamours. “Happy to oblige! Oh, and I’m taking the mango-lime with me! Offer withdrawn!”

He makes a point of turning around and walking away casually, like he is completely unfazed by it all. Perhaps it’s an attempt at holding his head high by pretending her reaction has left no impression on him whatsoever. But the minute he leaves, he hears the way she breaks down crying behind him. 

She’s blubbering uncontrollably. 

Nathan wishes he wasn’t so good at pretending he’s a stone cold prick.

*

Shaun doesn’t seem to know what to do with them for the rest of the afternoon. Half-arsedly, he instructs them to clean the benches out front that are covered in bird droppings, however, there is no supervision. Needless to say, it doesn’t take Nathan and Simon very long to sneak off together.

“You’ve gone quiet again,” notices Simon when they’re sat across from each other up on the roof, Nathan’s legs stretched out and resting on top of his. “You seem so distant.”

“I’m not,” replies the other boy automatically, like he isn’t really listening. “What do you mean ‘again’?”

“Lately you’ve been…” Simon holds his tongue because Nathan isn’t even looking at him. He’s staring into the distance, looking at nothing in particular. “I don’t know. Sometimes I worry what it is that pains you.”

Nathan feels more comfortable when Simon gives up his questions and kisses him instead. Every day he is getting away with more spontaneity and most often, only ends up double checking that he’s okay to touch, and to grind, and to pull him closer, when he’s already right in the middle of it. Nathan is too deep in thought to revisit their ground rules.

“Mm,” Simon hums slightly as he angles his head and kisses Nathan’s jawline deliberately. “I can feel your pulse right here. It’s like your heart is beating against my lips. See - there’s your proof that I’m not wishing you dead.”

Nathan slowly wraps his arms around the other boy’s neck, looks into his eyes pensively. 

“Barry, would you mind not staying over tonight? I’m sorry. I think I need some time alone to think.”


	2. Hunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, everyone. The editing of this chapter took me way longer than expected!
> 
> Once again, I apologise in advance for the cheesy Robin Hood references and quotes. This is when things get a bit crazy! Haha
> 
> Book quotes are from Howard Pyle's "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood." I own nothing!!

_**“IN MERRY ENGLAND in the time of old, when good King Henry the Second ruled the land, there lived within the green glades of Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham Town, a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood...”** _

*

As it turns out, the person he chooses to consult is Kelly. Whether he appreciates it or not, Kelly is always brutally honest. Besides, Barry is too god damn busy lusting after him to testify to his flaws. There is no way Nathan trusts the little weirdo to be impartial. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Kelly demands, before Nathan has spoken a word of his inner turmoil. “You’ve been moping all day.”

Moping doesn’t even begin to cover it. His most sincere apology to date was not only declined, but used to utterly destroy him. And now - _now,_ he’s been finding it a lot easier to see everything that is wrong with him, from the sound of his own voice to his reflection in the mirror, which still has his stomach churning on account of him failing to recognise the person on the other side. Nevermind the fact that he can believe he is losing himself. He is more terrified of losing Barry. Barry who is so devoted that he keeps surprising him with heated, biting kisses and unexpected hair-pulling, which secretly leaves Nathan stunned. Barry who is so eager to talk, and to listen, and to be there, only to be rejected by Nathan’s self-doubt which surfaces stubbornly by pushing down his instinct to actually tell the other boy how much he fucking needs him. 

He couldn’t have chosen a worse moment to have such a crisis. It’s inconvenient. It toys with him, and causes him to refuse the embraces of Barry’s that could have probably healed him. It’s like he is choosing his sickness over his cure.

“Am I a selfish person, Kel?” 

He poses the question as if there isn’t much weight behind it. As if he isn’t terrified of being faced with the answer. 

Kelly looks at him as though he must have banged his head again.

“Am I your fockin’ therapist?” When Nathan doesn’t say anything, she seems to realise his seriousness: “Mate, you’re a pain in the arse, and you’re dumb as fuck sometimes. But behind all that, you’re not selfish. Why’re you asking?”

Even if she means it, he’s not satisfied that he’s exactly selfless, either. Or generous. Or even kind. He can be a miserable bastard at times. What does he have to offer Barry, realistically? Even when Barry is being nothing but patient, he still finds ways of mistrusting his intentions. Perhaps Alisha would have given him something better. Perhaps changing into Super-Barry would have actually made him happier than Nathan could ever make him. 

“I changed the future by breaking Barry and Alisha up. Didn’t I?” He swallows and stares into the light of the vending machine powerlessly. He has been eyeing a packet of nuts that has now lodged itself in between two shelves. Feeling too glum to even give the machine a kick, he gives up, ignores the growling hunger in his belly. “I’m standing in the way of their happiness,” he adds darkly, “and until now, I haven’t even given a shit. I didn’t give a fuck until Alisha…” He pauses, shakes his head slightly as though pushing away his own thoughts. “I’m a horrible person. I must be. I don’t think about others.”

Kelly chews her gum quietly, stares at him while she tries to make sense of his dolefulness.

“Nathan, let me remind you that Simon is the agent of his own future. He chose you, didn’t he? So if he changed it, he did it because he wanted to.” She sticks her hand into her pocket, finds a couple of coins. “You didn’t do anything. Look, I don’t know what Alisha said to you. But she will get over this. I shouldn’t tell you this, but she hated Nikki’s guts when she got together with Curtis. Now they get on fine.” She hands him her money deliberately. “Here. Eat something, you fool. You’ll feel better.”

*

_“Do you think it’s true? Do you think I’ve ruined her life?”_

Simon doesn’t catch much of Nathan’s conversation with Kelly. He discovers much too late that they are conferring in private, and though he isn’t using his invisibility to spy on them this time, he feels guilty all the same for unpurposefully overhearing something Nathan has uttered with utmost caution.

For once he does the right thing and tells him what he’s heard. It’s his only way out of the shadows, proving that he is truthful and moving on from his sense of secrecy. He manages to turn his admission into a reminder that Nathan can talk to _him._ Though it’s no surprise, he envies Kelly for being his first choice. This much he admits, too.

Nathan tells him:

“I spoke to Kelly because I knew you would try to persuade me that I’m faultless. Which I don’t believe.”

Simon eyes him softly.

“It’s not your fault that I don’t want to be with Alisha, you know.”

“Maybe not. But that still doesn’t make up for the fact that I’m a shitty person.”

“You’re not a shitty person. What makes you say that?”

“I did something shitty. I behaved _shittily._ I went to speak to Alisha and I ended up antagonising her, like I always do. I drive everyone around me crazy, don’t I? I don’t know why I thought I could be decent for a change.”

Simon appeases him the only way he knows how. He places his hands around Nathan’s waist and kisses him, adamant that he can persuade him he’s blameless, with only his lips, and his heart.

“Fuck Alisha,” he whispers a moment later, keeping Nathan close to him, “I can’t stand hearing you talk about yourself this way.”

But Nathan’s look is meager and downcast.

“I never do the right thing, Barry. I never put others before myself. I don’t think before I act, and because of that, other people suffer from it.”

“That’s not true. And even if it was, I don’t care. I don’t want _you_ to suffer, Nathan.”

“Alisha says I reel you in by dying all the time. She calls it manipulation. But I think if she had my power, she would have you seduced in the same way,” the other boy muses sadly.

“No,” Simon says with a shake of his head, “Don’t you see? Alisha literally has the power of seduction. She used it on me. It didn’t work. When I tell you that you’re the one I want to be with, Nathan, I mean it. It could never be anyone else.”

*

_“When I tell you that you’re the one I want to be with, Nathan, I mean it. It could never be anyone else.”_

Nathan smiles to himself as he recalls Barry’s words of reassurance. It is Curtis’s shouting that pulls him back into reality, along with the bin bag that is flung before his feet.

“For the last time - fucking grab something! We’re gonna be making trips all day!”

Curtis is hauling along at least five or six bin bags, looking positively fed-up. Kelly, too, has her hands full, although she appears less bothered. After all, she sees no point in rushing to complete a chore when Shaun will only amuse himself assigning them another.

Nathan picks up the bin bag, then a couple more.

“Remind me why the containers are all the way on the other side? Also, we should just pull out one of those stolen trolleys from the lake and use it to carry all this shit in one go. Bosh! Job done!”

“Oh, now you’re full of ideas!” Curtis remarks, unimpressed. “Kel? Mind telling this idiot why that won’t work?”

Kelly gives them both a shrug.

“I don’t think we wanna be fishing for surprises in that lake,” she snorts, and that is all there needs to be said about that. “Come on, let’s just get it over with.”

“Just keep up, will you?” Curtis hisses at Nathan. “Pull your head out of your arse for once!”

“Hey!” Nathan gripes. “I’m carrying as much as I fucking can!”

“I hope for your sake that’s not true. Because that would mean those twiggy, girly arms of yours are even weaker than they look!”

“Oi!” Kelly objects, beating Nathan to it. “I’m carrying a fucking ton here, you wanker. He wishes he had girly arms like mine! He would be a lot stronger.”

“My arms are not twiggy!” Nathan all but growls at them. “I’m not weak!”

“Then focus!” Curtis snaps again. “There’s no reason this has to take us all fucking day!”

“He’s just busy thinking about Simon again,” comments Kelly. “I know. I’m in his head.”

“What? Well, get the fuck out of there, then,” Nathan demands.

“That’s seriously gross,” Curtis mutters under his breath, but Nathan hears it.

“Yo, arsehole! Homophobia is real! Ever heard of hate crimes?”

“One,” Curtis replies irritably, “you do not get to teach me about hate crimes, you prick. Two. I’m not homophobic. I just think you’re both idiots.”

“Idiots? Because we’re a little gay for each other, you mean?” Nathan mocks him by pretending to blow him a kiss.

“Look, I’m not having this discussion!” Kiss rejected. “You’re just doing this to piss off Alisha! You’ve never liked Simon. I don’t know what game you’re playing at!”

Nathan glares at Curtis. His words are sounding a little too fucking familiar.

Lucky for him, Kelly steps in:

“Trust me, I have overheard too many of their filthy thoughts. You don’t wanna know how much they actually like each other.”

When Curtis looks over his shoulder, Nathan beams because he loves proving him wrong.

“Whatever. I still think it’s pretty gross.”

They are crossing the parking spaces when they all stop at the sound of distant yelling.

“Ooh!” Exclaims Nathan, revived. “A fight! Maybe we’ll see something good!”

“This place is FULL of lunatics,” chimes Kelly instantly, “I bet one of them draws a knife!”

“Oh, great!” Sighs Curtis with sarcasm. “Let’s definitely take the front seats for that.”

But what they are expecting to be a heated argument between a couple of druggies suddenly has them stunned. What looks like a man dressed in a medieval, role-playing costume is stood bellowing at two police officers, both of whom are pissing themselves laughing.

“What the fock?” Whispers Kelly as the three of them inch closer for the show. “Is that guy for real?”

“Who the fuck does he think he is?” Curtis makes a baffled sound. “No way, man. This is more insane than I thought.”

The mysterious medieval role-playing freak shouts then:

_“I wouldn’t have you in my service, noblemen. I’ve known your kind aaaaall my life. You’re everything I’m meant to fight. You’re the enemy!”_

The two police officers are still highly amused, whispering among themselves.

“Is he doing theatre?” Kelly squints, and they all take in the green bycocket hat ornamented with a feather. 

“Fuck knows,” Nathan chuckles. “Look! What’s that in his hand? A plastic bow?”

“The fucker must have gotten it from Toys “R” Us,” muses Curtis. “Un-fucking-believable.”

The nonsensical rant continues:

_“You gobble good red meat, and we get bread and cheese. The laws can’t touch you and there’s no crime you can be punished for. Meanwhile, we can shoot a deer and have our eyes put out.”_

One of the police officers stops laughing.

“What? The fuck did he just say? Did he shoot a deer?”

The other officer is now speaking into his walkie-talkie.

 _“This is **my** forest,”_ cries the maniac simply. _“I’ll live here as I like!”_

The officers are both looking around them.

“What fookin’ forest? Sir, do you know where you are?”

“Come on. Let’s just drive him back to whatever institution he’s escaped from.”

 _“Do not touch me!”_ The nutjob holds up the children’s bow like he’s preparing to shoot. Nathan and Curtis are both snorting and giggling audibly, which luckily, goes unnoticed. _“You come in again - I’ll kill you!”_

“What did he say? Is that a fucking threat?”

“Sir, put that thing down, please. You’re coming with us.”

Obviously, the lunatic starts running. The officers quickly return to their car and set off as they chase after him.

“Aw, now we won’t know how this ends,” utters Kelly with boredom.

“Just when something interesting actually happens around here,” Nathan sighs, sticking his hands in his pocket. He nearly forgot for a moment that they still have a shit-ton of bin bags to dispose of.

That’s when Curtis freezes and becomes suddenly fixated. He’s staring intensely at the foot of a large tree on the other side of the car park. Before giving an explanation, he walks towards it curiously.

“Guys? Have you seen this?”

Kelly and Nathan exchange looks, after which they go after him. They’re not sure what the fuck he’s staring at, not until he steps aside and reveals something lying dead on the ground.

It’s a pigeon.

It has a big-arse metal arrow sticking out of its chest, looking horribly speared and torn apart.

“Jesus!” Nathan glances down at all the bloodied feathers in disbelief.

“Who the fock did that?” Kelly looks up, outraged. “You can’t hunt around here! It’s a community centre!”

Curtis looks at them both like they already know the answer.

“Unless there’s another tosser fooling around with a bow and arrow out here, I’d say it’s pretty clear.”

“What? No way!” Nathan cackles. “A fucking toy bow can’t do that!”

“What if…” Curtis looks down at the battered bird with concern. “What if he really _did_ do that? This arrow looks fucking real.”

“So he bought a few quality arrows for his fancy-dress, live-action-role-playing-whatever bullshit,” huffs Nathan sceptically. “That doesn’t mean he actually shot a bird down from the sky. There’s no way a nerd like him managed that, man.”

“Yeah,” Kelly retorts with zero amusement. “The knob must have found it dead and then speared it. I hope they fockin’ catch him.”

*

“Clocking out early, eh? Don’t worry, I won’t tell on you.”

Nathan smirks when, on his way back, he catches Shaun walking out to his car at only two o’clock in the afternoon. 

“I’ll have you know, I’m performing my duty by fixing you all up with the _very important_ supplies you need.” Shaun catches Nathan’s expression and shuts him down dully: “No. Before you get too excited. It’s paint. You’re spending tomorrow morning painting the park fences near the flyover, so - yaaay!” 

Shaun pretends to do a celebratory gesture with his hands.

Prick.

*

The following day, Simon artfully gropes Nathan’s arse by the fence gate, unaware that he is about to lose him again. The young Irishman has made the mistake of bending over to dip his brush in the paint can. Long, shapely legs are stilling when hesitantly, Nathan looks around him to make sure that nobody is watching the hand that cups him, of which Simon has already made sure. He knows he has a gift for getting away with this shit. He is never seen.

Simon catches Nathan’s smile when he straightens his back and faces him. For a moment, he thinks he might actually kiss him, despite being in the presence of the gang. He leans in, and as Simon parts his lips in anticipation, Nathan responds to his teasing by painting a dick on the shoulder of his jumpsuit. Astounded, Simon blurs it out with his hand before the paint dries. The other boy looks far too smug as he turns his back on him, pretends they’ve had no interaction.

“No way,” tuts Kelly suddenly, causing everyone’s heads to turn. She puts down her painting brush and points at something that lies half-hidden behind by the bushes. “Guys - over here!”

“What? Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something?” Curtis lets out a groan, annoyed to discover that he’s spilled some black paint down his leg. “Son of a…”

“This is bullshit,” mutters Alisha, equally discontented. “I hate the smell of paint. If I get this in my hair, I will absolutely kick off!”

“Guys, seriously,” Kelly prompts everyone again, “get your arses over here, now!”

They gather around what appears to be a dead squirrel lying face-down with an arrow sticking out of its back. Simon stares down at the creature with shock. Nathan told him about the ‘fancy-dress, medieval-looking wanker’ from yesterday, and about the shot-down pigeon, although seeing another dead animal with his own eyes, he must admit he’s speechless. It’s unlike anything he’s ever seen before.

The arrow poking out of that poor thing is massive. It looks as if made from solid steel and not wood.

“Fuck!” Alisha grimaces. “Who the fuck does that to a little squirrel? It’s... cruel!”

Curtis eyes Kelly.

“I’m guessing if you-know-who would shoot down a pigeon, why not a squirrel?”

“What, the weirdo from yesterday? You think he’s still around?” Kelly looks like she doesn’t know what to believe. “I guess the police didn’t catch him, then.”

“What a shocker,” remarks Nathan, seemingly unimpressed by this development. “No seriously. He ran off on foot. The two police officers not only outnumbered him, they also had a car. Why _wouldn’t_ he manage to escape them?”

Simon swallows nervously and looks at the gang before voicing his observation:

“This animal wasn’t shot down with a bow. See the arrow? The steel would make it too heavy to fly.” He pauses as he catches the way they all look at him, including Nathan’s private expression that reads: _Why am I not surprised you know your way around archery, Barry?_

He doesn’t say a word to him directly, though. Not in front of Alisha.

“So it’s true, then,” Kelly concludes. “The knobhead is going around piercing dead animals he finds on the ground. It’s all pretend.”

“But why?” Curtis frowns and shakes his head. “Why would he do that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe that’s what you do when you roleplay,” suggests Nathan dully. Again, he looks up at Barry, asks him in utter silence: _Do you have any input on that, you little nerd?_

Simon doesn’t know what to make of it all. 

That’s when Alisha takes a step forward and looks into the distance.

“So this guy - he’s dressed in some Robin Hood wannabe costume, yeah?” She makes a huffing sound and crosses her arms over her chest. “Yeah, I see him. It’s him alright. He’s down by the water.”

*

They all stare in disgust when the stranger walks out of the dirty, sewage-like water like he’s emerging from a bath. He’s naked from the waist up, although he’s still wearing that pointy, green hat with the feather on his head. Simon assumed Nathan had exaggerated, but everything fits the description. 

“Urgh, that’s well nasty!” Curtis covers his mouth and nose. They can all smell the mucky water from here. 

“I’m going to say something to him,” Alisha utters stubbornly. “I don’t wanna see some pervert taking his clothes off and stabbing animals like a pagan.”

“A pagan?” Nathan questions, tongue-in-cheek. “Why bring religion into this? I say that’s dangerous territory, Alisha.”

“Shut the fuck up! I wasn’t speaking to you, was I?” 

Simon flinches at her tone.

“I don’t think you should approach him. He could be dangerous.” Kelly reaches for her shoulder, but Alisha wriggles free.

“It’s just some geek in a costume, Kelly. Trust me, I’ll be fine.” She is already walking down towards the bank. Before the madman has a chance of noticing her, she bellows: “Hey - pervert! Leave the fucking animals alone, or we’ll call the police!”

Simon and the others follow reluctantly and appear behind her, one by one. The man is drying himself using what looks like a brown tunic. The fabric makes the whole ensemble look like a cheap knock-off. The kind that one might buy from a Halloween shop. Though he’s pretty puzzled by the look of the stranger, it’s his reply that shocks Simon the most:

“Companions, I see! Come - join us! Rise, and rise again until lambs become lions! I want to take the sheriff down. I want to hit him where it hurts…”

Alisha turns around to give the gang a look:

“What the fuck is he talking about?”

“He’s mental,” Curtis warns her, stepping up next to her, “ignore what he says. We should call the police.”

“Did you hear that?” Alisha shouts at him. “We’re calling the police, so I suggest you fuck off, mate!”

“I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves!” Sounds the voice, oddly dignified. “If that makes me an outlaw, so be it! I’ve been called worse.”

“Fucking hell. I think he’s actually quoting Robin Hood,” Kelly exclaims, fully alert. “Does the nutter think he’s him?”

“I’m actually quite giddy to find myself an outlaw…” continues the man, chuckling creepily to himself. “It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to me, ever.”

“Maybe he’s just seriously committed to roleplaying?” Nathan quips. “I’ve heard about this. You can’t break character, or the whole sect of virginal nerds will ban you from the game!”

“Shut up!” Curtis groans at him. “This is NOT a game!”

“Just fuck off!” Alisha shouts at the man again. “We don’t want you here!”

“Yeah,” Nathan backs her up, “besides, you’re not the outlaw around here! We are!”

Curtis pushes against him, sending Nathan stumbling slightly.

“I don’t want to hear another word from you, you prick!”

The man speaks as though ignoring them completely:

“Gaffer Swanthold speaks the truth when he saith: ‘Better a crust with content than honey with a sour heart!’”

Kelly scrunches up her face.

“What the fock does that even mean?”

“Wanker!” Alisha disses him. “Do you really think we have time for your shit?”

“This war, all wars, and everything happening here, it’s as old as time…”

“What fucking war?” Alisha demands. “You’ve lost the plot!”

“Rich men getting richer. Men of power taking more power from the blood of innocents…”

“Alisha, step back,” Curtis mutters. “Don’t piss him off.”

“Yours, mine, and my son’s. And I want to stop it. But I cannot do it alone.”

“Yeah well, you’re not recruiting any of us! So scram!” Alisha threatens.

“What’s that? You stand with the sheriff?”

The man’s tone changes chillingly. Simon finds himself tensing, although he has no clue what will happen.

“There is no sheriff, you psycho!”

“Alisha,” Curtis intervenes one last time, “don’t…”

“If you stand with the sheriff, that maketh you my enemy!”

He takes out a small, child-sized bow. Simon recalls Nathan mentioning it mockingly. It’s plastic, and poses no real threat to them. And yet, he has a bad feeling in his stomach.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kelly whispers, “we’re making things worse.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Alisha lets out an easy laugh. “You think he’ll hurt us with that? What is he going to do? Throw it at us?”

“Well, nerds _are_ known for their spectacular strength and good aim,” jokes Nathan. Kelly immediately punches his arm. “Ey! Come on!”

“Hey, moron! We’re not afraid of your little toy,” Alisha teases recklessly. “We know you haven’t been using it to shoot! You’re not as tough as you think!”

The man looks over at them and at first, his face is vacant, almost robotic. Simon wonders if he is somehow hexed, if the thoughts inside his head are truly his own.

“Ah! I recognise you for what you are now. Noblemen! I told you never to set foot in this forest again! I told you I would hunt you down and kill you!”

Alisha just emits another laugh. The rest of them, however, are sharing nervous glances. Anxiously, Simon turns to Kelly:

“Quick - can you hear what he’s thinking?”

“Good luck, mate!” Alisha retorts before anyone can stop her. “I’m sure you will!”

“I’m not getting anything,” Kelly replies gravely. “This is weird. I don’t like it.”

“Someone got a phone?” Curtis requests urgently. “We should call the police, now!”

“Don’t be such a pussy!” Alisha tells him cruelly. “He doesn’t even have a real weapon! What can he even do?”

She is talking over him. Simon turns his attention back on the stranger, sees his lips moving, but misses most of his final warning. Then, he makes out the last two words:

_“Happy hunting.”_

It’s not his bow, but his hand he raises at them. Instinctively, Simon springs to Nathan’s side, although before he can urge the other boy to run, he freezes, watches in shock when out of the man’s palm, a thick, pointy arrow begins to grow. 

“What the fuck!”

Alisha is too busy giggling, and Curtis too busy trying to get her to stop. They don’t seem to notice the way the stranger takes his aim. They have no idea what’s happening until, out of nowhere, the arrow sets off from his very hand and shoots through the air. It’s unnaturally swift, deadly silent. Simon doesn’t have the time to warn them. The arrow beats him to it, grazes Curtis’s arm so quickly, he doesn’t even realize until he feels the warm blood trickling down his skin.

Stunned, he holds up his arm, studies the shallow wound with disbelief.

Only then, Alisha lets out a startled scream.

“Run!” Kelly hollers when she catches the freak holding up his other hand. “He’s going to fockin’ kill us!”

*

Simon is faster to react, so he pulls Nathan with him. He’s already lost track of the others, so he wills the other boy to stick with him. And Nathan follows, the best he can. He even allows Simon’s sweaty hand to take a hold of his.

“Where the fuck did he go?”

“I don’t know,” Simon gasps, forcing his legs to keep going, “don’t stop, don’t look behind you! We have to get out of here!”

“What about the others?”

“I can’t hear them. They must have all split up!”

“Fuck!” Nathan hisses. “Did you see that? Did you see that thing coming out of his hand?”

“Uh-huh,” Simon wheezes as he guides them in between the trees, “guess he isn’t a harmless geek after all!”

He’s steering them both towards the flyover. If they can make it back to the community centre, they will be able to call for help. Just as they are making their way onto the bridge, however, Simon hears the sound of something darting past his ear.

“STOP!”

He seizes Nathan’s shoulders, though the other boy still crashes into him. Before their feet, two large arrows land, narrowly missing them. The sheer force of the steel is enough to bore into the ground as they hit. Simon feels his own limbs pushing Nathan back desperately. 

“Go back! Hurry! We’re too exposed out in the open. We need to hide behind the trees!”

“What, like the forest animals did before he slaughtered them?” Cries Nathan.

“We have no other choice - he will find us here!”

Simon grips his arm roughly, forces Nathan to listen to him. They are running back towards the water, having absolutely no idea where the ‘outlaw’ has taken his shot from. Simon’s hand is getting even slicker with sweat. At some point, Nathan’s hand slips out of his, but he assumes he must be right behind him. Out of the two of them, he is certain Nathan is the better runner. Simon cuts through a couple of small bushes and races for the protection of the tallest trees he can find. He zigzags his way between the tree trunks, letting himself be shielded behind them. Still, he is confident Nathan is with him, can almost hear the sound of his soft panting. Until he reaches out for a hand that is no longer there.

Simon pauses and spins around with surprise, horrified to learn that he is by himself. 

“Nathan?” He whispers, panicked. “Nathan, where are you?”

It is only when he steps over a small puddle in the ground that he coincidentally looks down, notices his missing reflection in the water. It’s happened again. The adrenaline has caused his power to activate. Nathan must have lost him when he turned invisible.

Before he can think of a way to track him down, he jumps at the sound of screaming. It’s Alisha, shouting for help. Clueless as what to do, Simon takes a deep breath before heading in the direction of her cries.

*

Alisha’s screaming has attracted Kelly and Curtis, too. The three of them arrive almost simultaneously, in time to see fake-Robin Hood forming a new arrow in his palm.

“You’re one of them! You take and you take, and let my people starve! I told you - give me your riches, and I shall spare your life!”

Curtis sprints ahead of them, makes his way over to Alisha first.

“Alisha! Are you okay?”

“He’s gone mad,” Simon hears her sobbing, although he can’t see her from behind the trees, “Curtis, please! Do something!”

Curtis turns to something on the ground.

“Fuck! Nathan! Is he-”

At the mention of Nathan’s name, Simon completely short circuits. His power deactivates, giving Kelly a scare as he appears right beside her.

“Give me your riches, I said! I know your kind! I know you live plentily,” fake-Robin Hood shouts, reminding everyone of his power. “I will not tell you again!”

“We don’t have any riches!” Alisha pleads desperately. “Who do you think we are, you psycho?”

“Wrong answer.”

The arrow is shot from his hand. Kelly lets out a gasp. Alisha whimpers and as they run to her, Simon fears the worst. They find her, completely nailed to a tree. The arrows that the man has fired at her have caught both her sleeves and even the leg of her trousers, effectively keeping her in place. She is wriggling and pulling in order to free herself, but the arrows are too deeply embedded in the wood. She’s trapped. The man takes his aim at her again.

“Please,” she sniffles as the fear sets in, “let me go…”

Curtis begins pulling at the arrow that keeps her left arm pinned. When it fails to budge, he resorts to ripping the fabric of her sleeve instead. Simon and Kelly, however, are stopping dead as they discover Nathan on the ground, kneeling by Alisha’s feet. He’s hunched over, with one palm pressing into the grass. His head hangs low and before Simon even sees the blood surrounding him, he knows he is collapsing.

“Nathan! NO!”

Simon realises quickly what he’s done. Alisha is unharmed, but he is not. He’s caught the deadly arrow that was meant for her. 

“What the fock happened?” Kelly shrieks, but Simon knows perfectly well.

Nathan has saved Alisha’s life.

“Please, no. No, no, no,” Simon whines brokenly as he throws himself down by his side. “Nathan! Look at me. Nathan!”

He tries to take the other boy into his arms when he sees the arrow piercing his chest and exiting through his back. From the way Nathan wheezes raspily, he knows it must have missed the heart and spiked his lung instead. He isn’t able to breathe and yet, had it been his heart, he would have been dead already. As soon as Simon cups his face, Nathan falls against him, his body giving up.

“Why did you do it?” Cries Simon, well aware that his words are devastating Alisha. “Why would you do such a thing? Why?”

“He jumped in front of you, didn’t he?” Sadly, Kelly joins the dots, too. While Simon cradles Nathan and begs him to stay awake, she watches Alisha: “He saved ya. You’ll be okay. Don’t worry, Alisha, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Get me down!” Is all Alisha can manage, her voice breaking sharply. “Please! You have to get me down…”

“Watch out!” Curtis yells urgently, and Simon gathers the outlaw is aiming at them again. Yet he doesn’t look up.

“Don’t shoot!” Kelly begs, though with a tinge of anger. “We haven’t done anything to you! You’ve already shot our friend. He’s dying! He needs help!”

Simon lets out a small sob and pulls Nathan’s head to his chest. His thin body is convulsing like he doesn’t have long. Careful not to press the arrow further into him, Simon wraps his arms around him securely and doesn’t care when he feels Nathan’s blood soaking his suit.

“Vile noblemen - if you truly value your lives, you will give me back what you have stolen from my people. Give me your gold. Give me your blood money.”

“We haven’t got any fucking-” Abruptly, Curtis is interrupted by Kelly.

“Here!” Hurriedly, she takes out her earrings and throws them on the ground before fake-Robin Hood’s feet. “My jewellery. Take them! They’re my most prized possession. They’re valuable, I swear!” She turns to Curtis, eyes his arm: “Quick! Take off your watch!”

“My watch? You’ve got to be shitting me…”

“Do as she says!” Alisha lets out a strangled sound. “Curtis, please! He will kill me!”

“Your jewellery, too, Alisha,” Kelly tells her, gesturing towards her necklace. “I’m sorry. I’m going to take it off your neck.”

Alisha doesn’t protest, although fresh tears are spilling down her cheeks.

“If I am to hand over my watch to this madman prick,” Curtis growls, “we _all_ have to give him something!”

Simon glares up at him, furious because he knows what he is insinuating. 

“I don’t care what we give him. Here. Take this.” He takes out his wallet from his pocket and throws it at Curtis. It’s sticky with Nathan’s blood. “Give it to him. And don’t even think about asking Nathan. He’s only given his fucking life. That’s enough, don’t you think?”

Curtis catches the wallet rather unintentionally, stares back at Simon, awkward. 

“He’s… he’s immortal,” he utters stupidly, making Simon despise him more.

“Quick, gather everything,” Kelly hisses before throwing their stuff over for fake-Robin Hood to claim. “Please,” she implores as she asks for mercy, “take our riches. Consider it a peace offering, or whatever. We don’t wanna fight ya.”

Just as the man lowers his arrow and seizes his stolen goods, Nathan gives an agonised cough and spews up blood onto Simon’s chest. 

“Nathan,” Simon sniffles, horrified, “oh god, no. I’m sorry.”

“Hurrah! Once again, justice has been served,” cheers the man who then goes on to do an entire monologue, with Alisha still pinned to the tree and Kelly and Curtis standing around her, frozen with worry of what might happen if they interrupt him. “Tell the sheriff my people are coming for him. Tell the sheriff that time is nigh…” 

Simon isn’t paying attention to anything other than Nathan. His tears are landing on his face. His shaking hands are reaching for Nathan’s cheek to dry them off him, but when he touches him, his head falls back slightly. It appears he can no longer move his limbs and yet, Nathan manages to look up at him. His eyes are no longer burning with pain, but are fading like a flickering, dimming light.

Simon bursts out weeping, not caring that the others will hear him:

“I’m sorry, Nathan. I turned invisible. I lost you. I wasn’t there to protect you…”

He cradles Nathan’s neck and rests his head on his shoulder. Bringing their faces close, Simon brushes his curls back, ignores the blood that is still trailing from his mouth. Nathan is beautiful, beautiful as ever. And yet, Simon finds it unbearable.

“D-don’t…”

He makes a surprised sound when Nathan tries to speak. The blood is choking him, and while Simon is quietly trying to guess what he might ask of him, _(don’t touch me, don’t film me, don’t cum on my dead body)_ Nathan uses his very last strength to gurgle out:

“Don’t… leave… me… Barry.”

Whimpering and wrecked, Simon cups his face and times his kiss with Nathan’s dying breath, steals it from him, refusing to let go until Nathan’s lips are turning cold against his own.

“I won’t,” he whispers, though Nathen can’t hear him. “I’ll be here. I’ll wait for you.”

Fake-Robin Hood has left. Kelly is helping Curtis cut Alisha free. 

Alisha stumbles as soon as she’s down and takes a tentative step forward. She pauses when her eyes lock with Simon’s. His mouth is smeared with Nathan’s blood. He looks like a savage. A feral, raging version of the boy she once knew.

She doesn’t anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading xx

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks for the support! <3
> 
> Apologies for ending this chapter on such a strange note - as I explained, it was getting too long, but I promise you'll get the continuation very soon! x


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